Part 3- Video Call Zip Instant

Elias froze. In the video, he could see himself sitting at his desk, staring at his screen, just as he was doing now. But there was a three-second delay. He watched his past self reach for a glass of water.

Elias double-clicked. The extraction bar crawled across the screen with agonizing slowness. 98%... 99%... 100%. Part 3- Video Call zip

His heart hammered against his ribs. He didn't remember anyone being in the room. He didn't remember the air turning this cold. Elias froze

Then, on the screen within the screen, a shadow moved behind the "past" Elias. He watched his past self reach for a glass of water

On the video, the shadow leaned down, whispering into the ear of the Elias on camera. In the present, Elias felt a cold puff of air hit his neck.

He didn't turn around. He couldn't. He just watched the video as the shadow reached out a hand—long, grey, and translucent—and clicked "Record" on the video call interface. The video ended.

The file sat on Elias’s desktop, a stark white icon labeled .